Neglected Horses Rescued From Queen Anne’s County Farm

CENTREVILLE, Md. (WJZ)—A major case of animal neglect. This time it involves more than a dozen horses at a farm on the Eastern Shore.

Derek Valcourt has more on this story.

Animal Control rushed in to rescue the worst of the neglected horses. Sadly, for some of them, it was too late.

Last year, Animal Control officials began keeping a close eye on Canterbury Farm in Centreville, Queen Anne’s County, a facility that specializes in the breeding of Polish Arabian horses.

On the property, Animal Control says it found a herd of 146 horses. Many of them were in poor condition, malnourished with an inadequate food supply.

Earlier this month, officers confronted the farm owner who reluctantly agreed to voluntarily surrender 13 horses found to be in the poorest of health.

But now veterinarians and horse rescue workers say six of the animals were so severely neglected that they had to be humanely euthanized. The others have been taken to horse rescue farms for rehabilitation.

Officials say they are considering filing criminal charges against the woman who owns the animals while they continue to monitor the condition of the remaining 133 horses kept on the sprawling Canterbury Farm property.

Pictures taken from Sky Eye Chopper 13 reveal that there are still plenty of neglected horses on the property. Animal Control says they are well aware of the situation and are keeping a close eye it.

Days End Farm Horse Rescue has been treating some of the rescued horses. They’re asking for donations to help care for the animals. Click here to make a donation.

Queenstown was my home for many years. Centreville was a bit distant. It’s been 20 years since we moved but I had never been aware of anyone ever breedin Polish Arabians. I’ve owned and cared for these type of horses for 30 years……I would like to know more…

It is so sad that people mistreat animals large and small. I have rescued a few horses over the years and it is rewarding to watch thier eyes come back to life! I am on the board of the Humane Society in Kent County so we see sad cases. Everyone- please donate to your Humane Society or animal rescue. We are always looking for funds to help save more animals. Most Humane Societyies are nonprofits and have dedicated volunteers but we need money to survive, let alone grow our ability to help animals Next year, we are celebrating 50 years and hope to do a major campagin for expansion and renovation- so save animals and donate!

No one should be breeding horses in this economy especially if they are going to be irresponsible and have over 100 horses. Who in their right mind thinks they can take care of that many horses and feed them properly. No freaking wonder their are pro-slaughter people because people apparently can’t be responsible for their animals welfare. Now all we can do is spend thousands to get these horses back to health and HOPE we can find 100+ of them a home. Be responsible and don’t breed, then we wouldn’t have problems like this. If you can’t afford your horse, find it a home or euthanize before they get in such a condition.

I used to work for this woman about 8 years ago. There were maybe 300 head. All the animals were fed by all of the stable hands and myself. Unfortunately, I have to laugh at her because KARMA can be a cruel thing. I look back and think, she can’t even pay the bills when a few of us were exposed to a rabid horse which caused about 7 of us to be forced to undergo rabies treatment let along being unwilling or even able to pay the bills for when I was really hurt. She is going to get what is coming to her!

I agree, I don’t understand it either. How close an eye are they keeping if they allowed the horses to get into such a condition that they died? The pictures tell the truth, and all those horses should be out of there, Shame on the county for allowing this to happen!

What the hell is wrong with you people? This happens every day to human beings. Children, seniors, homeless. Shame for the animals but that is what they are,…animals. Get your priorities straight & help your children, seniors & homeless.

Sheriff, I understand where you are coming from, and you are right it happens everyday. I volunteer with children and my daughter with animals. Can I ask what you do? Oh, and I give money from my paycheck every week to organizations that help homeless and abused children. I have the paystubs to prove it. The pictures of activities with kids. Oh, did I mention I am a single mother of two daughters, work full-time, go to school, and do this volunteer work? What do you do to help other beings?

Breeze,
As a cancer survivor I worked at Camp for kids with cancer for over five years. It was sponsored in part by the ACS of MidAtlantic region & staffed by doctors, nurses & counselors all volunteers. I conducted a bible study for the incarcerated women in the downtown pretrial facility once a week for 8 years. My wife & I also ran a head start for these same women & their children after release from prison.

Now this is very true. I’m not sure why there are so many uneducated idiots who think you can only help people OR animals. Many millions of people worldwide have found it quite easy to do both.

People make mistakes. People do bad things. Sometimes even good people do bad things. In this case, however, it seems from the comments here that she was not a very kind or helpful person to beging with. If that is true, she deserves a harsh sentence. But if she is old or ill in some way, that may be a different story. But there will be an investigation, and the truth will come out.

Honestly, if she didn’t have the damn money she should have started selling or getting rid of the horses before it even came to this tragedy. I know how expensive horses can be as I have a few. Obviously, this lady thought that these horses would just be fine thriving off of what grass was available and the hay she had. As far as the Animal Control keeping an eye on her…..if they had suspicions early enough then they should have stepped in well before it got to this point. With this said, they are just at much fault as she!

ACO function deal with a lot of legal stuff. The law should be clear, but it is not. Animals are legal property and there are many hoops to be jumped through to prosecute. It is an unfortunate part of our legal system.

If this article was about abused or neglected human beings I am sure that there would be posts from just as many if nor more people. however, it is not…its about horses being abused. Hence all the post.

Those of u who posted about everyone who cares about the well benig of these horses stating” “what about all the sick kids, and homeless people, ect…” you need to get your priorities straight. If I am reading an article about neglected horses, why in gods name would I post about neglected humans?

Also, homeless people have not been homeless there whole life…it is due to their life choices. I will not be charitable to any one who f*cked up thir life because they have poor decision making skills. As for the starving and sick children of the world….or even in this country….YES! It s aproblem….but its never going to get better. Especially in this economy.

This womna chose to have horses, in the same respect as my prior statement, she made a poor choice….however, the animals are suffering for it. Just like Parents who have kids they cant afford to take care of. Dont make the choice to procreate if you are not 100% SURE that you can support that child. Through better or worst.

an animals life to me is just as substantial as a human. They have hearts, and minds and breathe the same air as we do. Mos tof them are even smarter than most of us. Say what you will. I really dont care…Sherriff.

You’re a f****** moron. Homeless people are not always there because of “life choices.” Some had great jobs and educations, got injured, sick, or laid off and became homeless. Most homeless people were formerly the hardest working people of all. IT IS A KNOWN FACT THAT THE POOR WORK HARDER THAN THE MIDDLE CLASS OR THE RICH. And don’t forget many homeless are sick, injured, or mentally ill. THOSE ARE NOT LIFE CHOICES, YOU FREAK!
OH, AND I FEEL JUST FINE CALLING YOU STUPID BECAUSE YOU CAN’T EVEN SPELL. TAKE ALL YOUR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, YOU BRAGGER, AND GET AN EDUCATION BEFORE KARMA COMES LOOKING FOR YOU. I PRAY YOU WILL BE HOMELESS ONE DAY, AND GET SPIT ON BY RICH LOSERS LIKE YOURSELF.

I wish that someone, if not animal control, then her friends/family/ neighbors had done something before it got to this condition. To see any single animal in this condition is terrible, but to allow this person to amass such a sizeable herd that she obviously couldn’t care for…. It is depressing, and I hope something is done fast for the rest of the horses. Maybe people with large farms and large hearts could offer to care for some?

All of you on here talking about these are animals, what about humans. I give of myself for human causes all the time, lots of people do, people need to be aware of this abuse also, so stop acting like nobody cares about human beings because this story is about animals, they need help too. Get off of your f’ing soap box, this story is in the news like every other, so don’t negate the fact that animals have NO VOICE, it’s the cruel human beings that cause these incidents. The owner/owners of the farm are nothing but a piece of garbage who should be starved. How’s that for humans, they have caused this!!!!

To care about these animals is what makes us human.
Boy,I didn’t realize it was going the way of dogs and cats.
Surprise.
Too many horses as well, it appears.
I see a swollen population,on obviously limited resources .
Such is humanity.

call the Queen Annes County Sheriffs dept and ask for the ACO. They can tell you were the horses went and contact info. There ae always horses that need homes. MAny people do not know about the rescues.

Yo, Sheriff. Advocating for horses doesn’t mean you can’t or don’t advocate for people. Some of us manage to do both. If you are or were a sheriff, you know that people who abuse or neglect animals generally are not stable (no pun intended) and can be be murderers or other types of abusers. In addition, animals have less protection in the way of laws and more importantly enforcement than do children. I applaud your volunteerism but not your exclusionism. And as for that that other guy with the blog…….

Has anyone ever tried to take care of a 150 horses by themselves?Age catches up withya. Over how many years the horses have been there. Now if there are horses stuck in there stalls with out a fighting chance that is ill. That’s an awesome heard.And they by the pics don’t look bad. There just coming off winter.There horses not pets.

The horses were not neglected. The only ones that looked bad were the old ones. Old horses look like old people, skin and bones. The young horses looked like gangly yearlings, I saw nothing terribly wrong with any of them. This whole thing is a ploy to take over the horses and eventually take her farm in the name of Animal rescue. The Arabian Breeders of America and the Polish Arab society is going to fight this action and get the horses back. Days End beware, you stepped on too many toes this time.

this is insane i know the owner personally and no one who has posted on here should be making rude remarks just from what they have heard on the news i can honestly say the owner of these horses has a good heart and didn’t have any intentions of this happening i do not condone it but people shouldn’t be judging her either no ones perfect and the media exaggerates, the pictures they have on here are only of the old horses most of them 35 and up they are not easy keepers to begin with but she loved each and everyone of those horses!

The County can’t act upon any case unless there is hard evidence upon them in order to get an arrest warrant. In this case the poor horses were enough evidence to have permission to act on. It’s hard to believe but this is how it is. So far that I know the horses are slow but surely getting better.